DISPATCHES

CHICAGO DOWNHOME DEMOCRACY.

Jim Hightower's Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour drew
5,000 people to Chicago's Union Park June 15 for workshops on food,
agriculture and democracy, speeches by the likes of Studs Terkel and
Patch Adams, and music from artists such as Grammy Award-winning
singer Erykah Badu.

For the most part, John Nichols wrote for the Madison Capital
Times, supporters of the 2000 campaigns of Democrat Al Gore and Green
Ralph Nader put old arguments behind them and focused on the task of
beating Republican George Bush in 2004, but there was no consensus on
who the best standard-bearer for progressives would be. Some promoted
US Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, chair of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus. Stickers were distributed by a group that wants
to draft Hightower (see www.drafthightower.com), arguing that only
Hightower &emdash; a former Texas agriculture commissioner with a
long history of battling the Bush family &emdash; understands how to
undo the popular president with a populist appeal. Their slogan:
"Fight Texans With Texans!"

Hightower promoted Jesse Jackson Jr., who like Hightower said he
is not running, but the hometown crowd cheered Jackson's rousing
speech that proposed constitutional amendments guaranteeing equal
rights for women, access to health care and education and &emdash; in
the light of the contested 2000 presidential election result &emdash;
the right to vote and have that vote counted.

FBI: KILLER ANTHRAX FRESH. Scientists have determined that
anthrax powder sent through the mail last fall to news media and
Senate Democrats was made no more than two years before it was sent,
the New York Times reported. The new finding has concerned
investigators, who say it indicates that whoever sent the anthrax,
which killed five people, could make more and strike again. As the
FBI has failed to close in on a suspect, the Times reported, "amateur
sleuths and self-appointed experts have rushed in to fill the void
and draw conclusions ..." Barbara Hatch Rosenberg of the Federation
of American Scientists was not named, but she has been the FBI's most
prominent critic, saying in a letter posted at
www.fas.org/bwc/news/anthraxreport.htm that at least since December
the FBI has known that the perpetrator of the anthrax attacks is
American with evident connection to the US biodefense program. She
met quietly with Senate staff members on June 18, Salon.com
reported.

D'S DEAL ON JUDICIAL NOMINEES. Democratic Senate leaders
have reached a deal to confirm more than a dozen judges in return for
a Democratic nominee to the Federal Communications Commission, Roll
Call magazine reported June 20. Senate Republicans expect 14 pending
judicial nominations to be confirmed in exchange for the confirmation
of Jonathan Adelstein, an aide to Majority Leader Tom Daschle who has
been recommended to fill an FCC spot. Lott had blocked Adelstein in
retaliation for the Judiciary Committee's rejection of his longtime
friend, former segregationist US District Judge Charles Pickering of
Mississippi, to a circuit court seat. The 14 judges getting the green
light include five nominees to the circuit courts, the most
controversial being US District Judge D. Brooks Smith. Sensing
opportunity to gain more lifetime right-wing judicial appointments in
exchange for short-term regulatory minority commissioners, Sen. Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will block confirmation of Ellen Weintraub,
a lawyer at the firm that represents Daschle's political action
committees, to the Federal Election Commission until there is more
movement on judicial nominees, Roll Call noted.

US ARAB DRAGNET EMPTY. In the nine months since last year's
terrorist attack on New York and Washington, government officials
estimate that 1,100 people, mostly Middle Eastern-born men, have been
arrested or detained, Salon.com's Eric Boehlert wrote June 19.
Independent observers, though, such as David Cole, professor of
constitutional law at the Georgetown Law Center, suggest the number
stands closer to 1,500 or 2,000. Yet only a single man, Zacarias
Moussaoui, has been charged with being a Sept. 11 conspirator, and he
was detained for immigration violations even before the dragnet
began. In the meantime, hundreds have been deported for routine visa
violations. The US Justice Department, under court order, reported
that 147 detainees remain in custody &emdash; 74 on
immigration-related charges and 73 on separate criminal charges.

EARTHQUAKE RATTLES NUKE SITE. A predawn earthquake near
Yucca Mountain June 14, occurring just weeks before the Senate votes
on siting a nuclear waste dump there, "seems to be nature's way of
warning lawmakers to put the brakes on this bad plan," Joan Claybrook
of Public Citizen said. More than 600 earthquakes of a magnitude of
2.5 or more have been measured within 50 miles of Yucca Mountain
since 1910, she noted, and Nevada ranks third in the nation in
frequency of strong earthquakes, but the Bush administration reneged
on a campaign promise not to put the dump there and the House
endorsed Bush's decision. Critics fear radioactivity will leak into
the aquifer beneath Yucca Mountain and contaminate the source of
drinking water.

SENATE 'ETHICS' BLOCKS ABM TREATY FIGHT. The Senate Ethics
Committee has denied US Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., permission to
join a lawsuit that asks federal courts to clarify whether it was
appropriate for President Bush to unilaterally end US participation
in the 30-year-old Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. But Feingold is not
giving up on the suit brought by 31 members of the House of
Representatives, or the cause of pushing the Senate to assert its
Constitutionally-defined authority role in deciding whether the US
enters and exits international treaties, John Nichols wrote for
TheNation.com. The Senate requires that members receive an Ethics
Committee waiver from rules regulating gifts before accepting free
legal assistance. Senators forced to defend themselves against
lawsuits are routinely granted waivers. But the rules were read
narrowly in regard to Feingold's request because he sought to become
a plaintiff in a legal action. Feingold, a lawyer, says he might file
an amicus brief in support of the legal action. "I am going to
continue to do everything I can to help the members of Congress that
are bringing the suit." Some legal observers say the suit's prospects
will suffer because there is not a senator among the plaintiffs,
Nichols noted.

DRUG COMPANIES INVEST IN R'S. Pharmaceutical companies were
among 21 donors paying $250,000 each at a June 19 Republican
fundraiser that raised $30 million in "soft money". As Tapped, the
"weblog" of The American Prospect, noted, "The hypocrisy is stunning,
isn't it? Allow us to connect the dots: First, President Bush signs
the new campaign finance law while holding his nose. Next, his party
succeeds in undermining the rulemaking to implement it. Then, Bush
further mocks the new law by holding these mega-fundraising dinners.
And here are a few more dots to connect: This week the GOP unveiled
its wolf-in-sheep's-clothing drug pricing plan in Congress and began
moving it forward." According to the Washington Post, Robert Ingram,
GlaxoSmithKline PLC's chief operating officer, was the chief
corporate fundraiser for the gala; his company gave at least
$250,000; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a
trade group funded by the drug companies and a prime mover of the
GOP's prescription drug plan, kicked in $250,000, too. Pfizer Inc.
contributed at least $100,000. Eli Lilly and Co., Bayer AG and Merck
& Co. each paid up to $50,000 to "sponsor" a table. Other drug
companies reportedly donated money as part of the fundraising
extravaganza.

W FUNDRAISES IN SMOG CITY. One day after proposing
weakening pollution controls on more than 1,700 old power plants,
refineries and other polluters, President Bush travelled to one of
America's smoggiest cities June 17 to raise money. Houston, home to a
number of energy giants, including Enron, is currently violating
Clean Air Act limits for asthma-causing ground-level ozone. In the
last three years, Houston residents have been exposed to ozone smog
more often and at higher concentrations than residents of any other
city in the United States. "It's incredibly ironic that one day after
weakening the Clean Air Act, President Bush returns to the center of
the energy industry to collect more money," said George Smith of the
Sierra Club. "To let polluting energy companies off the hook one day,
and then raise money two blocks from Enron headquarters the next,
sends a disturbing message to the thousands of Houston children with
asthma and other respiratory diseases."

RAILROAD SUBSIDY MYTH. While the Bush administration
dragged its feet on Amtrak's request for an emergency $200 million
bailout, it had the gall to suggest that the national rail service
should be privatized and unprofitable lines shut down. This ignores
the experience of Britain, where privatization has been a disaster.
If Amtrak relies on subsidies, it pales behind the aid given to
automobiles and commercial airlines. Jon Talton noted in the June 20
Arizona Republic, "In 2002 the federal government spent $33 billion
in transportation dollars on highways, $17 billion directly on air,
but only half-a-billion on Amtrak. And we're surprised that service
and route options have deteriorated?" Americans want options,
especially after Sept. 11, he noted. In May, airline passenger
traffic dropped by 10%, but Amtrak saw ridership rise by 1.1%.
Amtrak's top-line Acela service saw a 23% increase while revenue grew
by 44%. Also, airlines lost a record $11 billion last year, but
Congress rushed through $10 billion in loan guarantees (and $5
billion in grants) after 9/11. This on top of decades of federal
airport building, parceling out of landing slots and assorted other
government giveaways. When you add the cost of pollution from
automobiles and US troops to maintain sources of cheap oil so we can
drive gas-guzzling SUVs, Amtrak starts to look more cost effective.

TRADE BILL HEADS TO HOUSE. Republican House leaders are
determined to vote on a pro-business "fast track" trade bill
instructions in an attempt to strengthen House negotiators' position
as they seek to reconcile differences with a Senate bill, the
Associated Press reported. Last December the House on a 215-214 vote
approved fast track only after the White House made last-minute
concessions for textile-state lawmakers. The Senate approved its own
version this spring after adding assistance to workers harmed by
imports. It included a first-ever federal subsidy for workers to
purchase health insurance after they were laid off due to import
competition. It also included a provision to give Congress a chance
to seek changes in certain trade deals. The new House version would
omit that provision and reduce the assistance for workers. It
includes the concessions that Reps. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Robin Hayes,
R-N.C., and other textile state lawmakers gained when they helped
pass the trade bill last December, AP reported. Call your House
member via the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. [Editor's
Note: the House passed the rule June 26 (after this issue went to
press) on a 216-215 vote.]